Finding Fieldwork

Visit the Archaeological Institute of America’s Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin (AFOB) to find current volunteer and field school positions around the world. Calls for applications will also be shared here in News & Events.

 

FAQs for undergraduate students interested in working on a ‘dig’:

What is a ‘field school’?
A field school is a program of instruction in archaeological methods that takes place on an actual excavation. Students pay tuition and may earn summer school credit through whatever institution offers the program, just as with other summer academic programs, in the US or abroad.

Are there other ways to get started in archaeology?
Yes. Students may work as unpaid volunteers or as research interns on excavations accepting applications for such positions.

Should I attend a field school or work as a volunteer/intern?
Answering this question depends on a few different things:

• How much knowledge of archaeology do you have? If you have taken no courses on archaeology and have no prior experience, a field school is advisable. Although there are some excavations that will take as volunteers anyone willing to lift a bucket, you will probably not receive any formal instruction in methods and concepts of archaeology. And research interns will be expected to have a base of knowledge on which to build.
• Do you want or need university credit for your work? If you are considering graduate school for archaeology, it would be a good idea to look at some of the program qualifications. Some programs may require record of a ‘field school’ on your undergraduate transcript. Others may require simply ‘field experience,’ for which either a field school or volunteer/intern situation would suffice. And multiple summers of work as an intern on the same project would probably be considered as equivalent to (if not better than) a field school.
• Do you prefer step-by-step instruction or ‘trial by fire’? As a volunteer or intern, you may not be given much formal instruction; you will of course learn by doing and have many opportunities for learning from team leaders and more experienced students, but how much you learn will really depend on your own initiative and engagement.

How do I find an excavation to work on?
There are opportunities all over the world!

• For a searchable database updated every year, go to the on-line Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin (AFOB), offered by the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA): AFOB— http://www.archaeological.org/fieldwork/afob
• Or do your own Google search for “field school” and a region or type of archaeology you’re interested in, such as “field school” and “classical archaeology.”
• There are many good field schools right here in Virginia: e.g., Montpelier, Monticello, and Jamestown

How do I find funding to support participation in a dig abroad?
There are a number of scholarships and grants that can support archaeological fieldwork, offered by UR and other organizations:

• The Archaeological Institute of America offers the Jane C. Waldbaum Archaeological Field School Scholarship ($1000) to help undergraduates and first-year graduate students to participate in an excavation abroad: https://www.archaeological.org/grant/waldbaum-scholarship/
• Members of Eta Sigma Phi (the national classics honor society) are eligible for the Eta Sigma Phi Summer Scholarship for Fieldwork in Classical Archaeology ($500): https://www.etasigmaphi.org/scholarships/archaeological-fieldwork/  
• Some field schools offer their own scholarships to their most qualified applicants.
• For tuition-bearing field schools, UR students can apply for the Howland Summer Grant
• For research or internships, UR students can apply for A&S Summer Fellowships and/or Weinstein Summer Grants.

What other opportunities are there to study classics and archaeology abroad in the summer?

• The American School of Classical Studies in Athens (ASCSA) offers  six-week intensive summer program (with three weeks in Athens and three weeks traveling around Greece) as well as three-week summer seminars in Greece: https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/programs/summer-session-and-seminars
• The American Academy in Rome offers several similar summer programs, one focusing on the city of Rome, one on archaeology (including a short time on a dig), and one on Roman pottery: http://www.aarome.org/